


Better Late Than Never

by writerdot



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 03:43:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10549500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerdot/pseuds/writerdot
Summary: House is definitely up to something.





	

James Wilson is just a little bit nervous at the moment, because he’s looking at his grocery list and doesn’t see what he should.

Wilson is a pretty organized guy. Especially when it comes to his grocery shopping. Every week, he starts start a grocery list and puts it on the refrigerator, and adds to it as he goes so he doesn’t forget anything. He then goes to the store on Fridays, after work, before the weekend.

He’s done this for years and of course, the lists got a little more interesting during the temporary times that he and House lived together. In fact, outlandish would probably be a better word, because House would add random things that Wilson couldn’t possibly find. The first day it had happened, all he could do was shake his head and laugh when he saw ‘pink death ray’ scrawled in House’s handwriting in between ‘garbage bags’ and ‘tomatoes.’

When they began a romantic relationship, and moved in together permanently, the requests got a little more practical. House was complaining one night that they didn’t have what he wanted in the kitchen, so Wilson got fed up and made it clear that all his partner needed to do was add what he wanted to the list and Wilson would get it for him, since he knows how much House hates going to the grocery store himself. The next day, he saw ‘red peppers’ in House’s handwriting above ‘baby dinosaur in a green t-shirt.’

And House always has something to add to the list. Always. So, when Wilson goes to get the list on this particular Friday evening and sees that there isn’t anything written on there in House’s handwriting, he wonders how this is the first time he’s noticed.

This could either mean that House is up to something (he’s not entirely sure what that could be exactly, but knowing House…) or, House just didn’t need anything, which is unlikely. He goes for the first option, grabs his cell phone from his pocket, and presses 1 on his speed dial.

“House’s house of incompetent fellows. How can I help you today?”

“Screwed up with a patient again?” Wilson asks with a grin.

“Don’t they ALWAYS?” House hollers the last word and Wilson knows that he directed that last part towards his team.

“Hey, so I’m going to the grocery store…”

“Oh, is it Friday?”

Wilson rolls his eyes at the taunt. “Yes, House. It’s Friday. You didn’t add anything to the list. Did you forget?”

“Nope. I went earlier.”

Wilson freezes. “You. You went to the grocery store. Voluntarily?”

“Yep,” House chirps. “Needed to pick some things up, so I just got everything I needed.”

“Why didn’t you take my list with you, then?”

“Because I didn’t want to go back to the loft for it. It was kind of sudden.”

“Okay…” Something in House’s voice still has him feeling a little weary. “So you’re good then?”

“If you could find some brains for team at the store, no. Otherwise, yes.”

“Should’ve added that to the list.”

“I’ll remember that for next time,” House teases back. “Hey Wilson, you aren’t doing anything on Sunday are you?”

“Uh,” There’s that nervous feeling again. “Other then hanging out on the couch with you, no.”

“That’s why I’m asking, because I may not be able to,” House answers. “This patient is crazy…” Suddenly Wilson can hear several vague beeping noises and knows that everyone’s pagers are going off.

“Speaking of which,” House says hurriedly. “Gotta go, patient's in cardiac arrest. Have fun at the store!”

He hangs up before Wilson can get a word out. He looks at the phone and shakes his head at House’s antics.

He also can’t shake the distinct feeling that House is up to something.

*****

Saturday passes without any crazy happenings caused by his partner, though Wilson does have to go in when Jordana Lunsford is suddenly admitted with complications from breast cancer and House is still dealing with his own patient.

He manages to make it home before House, that night. House trudges in an hour and a half later, a triumphant smile on his face, and Wilson immediately knows he made another save, so they order a victory pizza and spend the rest of the evening rather emphatically not watching a movie.

When Sunday morning comes around, however, he’s woken up very suddenly by a heavy weight crashing onto his body and a loud ringing phone in his ear.

“Wilson, your phone’s ringing.”

Wilson opens bleary eyes to see House’s blue ones an inch from his face.

“Thanks, House,” Wilson says sarcastically, grabbing the phone. House leans down and plants a quick kiss on his lips.

“No problem,” House says, getting off of him and laying down on the other side of the bed next to him. Wilson looks at him like he’s never quite seen him before as he presses the ‘accept’ button on the phone.

“James Wilson…okay…Alright, thanks, Sandy. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He hangs up the phone and looks at House, who has sprawled out on his stomach, his head on top of his folded arms.

“Got to go in. My patient from yesterday is having issues again.”

“That sucks, since I managed to cure mine.”

It is convenient, Wilson thinks and that nervous feeling from Friday night comes back to him again.

“Are you up to something?”

House looks at him, the very picture of innocence. Yep, Wilson mentally says again. Definitely up to something.

“No. What would make you think that?”

“You’re just….acting really weird. Well, weirder then usual anyway.”

“I think you’re paranoid.”

“So, this isn’t some ruse to get rid of me? I’m not going to come home to find the loft filled with strippers and beer?”

“Nope. What would I need strippers for when I’ve got you?”

Wilson grins for a second at the back-handed Housian compliment before he nods slowly, cell phone still in hand. He looks between it and his lover for a second and House just grins at him.

“Okay. I’m going to go grab a shower and go in,” he says, still looking at House slightly suspiciously.

“You do that,” House responds with a shrug.

Ten minutes later, he’s eschewed blow-drying his hair and he’s kissing House good-bye. What was supposed to be a chaste kissing turns into far more when House grabs the back of his neck and slides his tongue into his mouth. He finds it difficult to pull away, but when he does, House is looking at him affectionately.

“Just so you know,” House says a little breathlessly. “I’m bummed you’re being called in and was looking forward to spending the whole day doing nothing with you.”

Wilson looks at him and sees no evidence of mockery on his face. He leans forward and kisses House quickly (this time). “Are you okay? You aren’t dying or anything?”

House smiles a little. “No. Just…wanted to tell you that.”

Wilson smiles back. “Okay…see you later.”

“See you later. I’m going back to sleep.”

A minute later he’s in his car, driving to the hospital. House is affectionate, more then he thought he would be before they’d gotten together, but even his parting comment is a little unusual. He doesn’t understand why that is, but maybe House isn’t up to anything…maybe he really had just wanted to spend an uneventful Sunday with Wilson and had simply regretted that that wasn’t going to happen, especially since they didn’t get the whole Saturday.

Wilson smiles at the thought and continues his drive to the hospital, determined to just enjoy the attention and stop being so suspicious.

*****

Two hours later, he’s walking toward his office after a difficult time with Jordana and her family. He hates that she’s taken such a sudden turn for the worse, and he’d tried his best to reassure them that she was comfortable.

Just as he reaches his office door, he’s stops very suddenly when he notices Thirteen standing in front of him.

“Hi, Wilson,” she says cheerfully. “You okay?”

He nods. “Yeah, just a…difficult case. What are you doing here?”

“Making up some clinic hours today…thought Sunday would be a slow day, but I guess I was wrong. Taking a quick break before I go back…you headed home?”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds good,” she says with a nod. “Hope the rest of your Sunday is uneventful.”

“Thanks,” he says with a confused smile. As he closes his office door, he misses her smile as she takes out her cell phone and puts it to her ear.

*****

When he walks into the apartment sometime after two in the afternoon, the first thing he notices is the smell permeating the loft.

It smells wonderful.

He walks further down the hallway, to see House with his back to him and he can see the tied apron strings at the small of House’s back. Wilson sets his briefcase down and takes off his jacket as he tries to get a better view of what House is doing.

“House?”

House spins around, spatula in his hand. Wilson can tell there’s something on it but can’t tell what it is. House is suddenly blocking his view of the counter behind him as he says, “Wilson! Just in time!”

“For…”

“Well, you thought I was up to something and you were right.”

“Okay,” Wilson says slowly, as he watches House turn around and pick something up. He walks backward around the island before standing in front of Wilson and presenting him with…

A cake. Wilson’s favorite as far as he can tell—chocolate with chocolate frosting.

“House…what?”

“Happy belated Birthday,” House says with a smirk, apparently enjoying his confusion.

“It’s…September. My birthday is in February.”

House sets the cake down on the island gently and turns toward him, slipping the apron off. “I know. But…my patient…he was going on and on about wanting to get out of the hospital, because he hadn’t finished planning his wife’s birthday party and it sort of occurred to me that we didn’t do anything for your birthday this year.”

“You were busy with Cuddy and Rachel,” he says absently, still trying to wrap his mind around it. “And don’t we usually just sit on the couch with pizza and beer and watch bad movies for it anyway?”

“Yeah,” House says with a shrug. “But now that we’re together, we do that pretty regularly, I wanted to do something different. So, I baked you a cake. I know it’s kind of sappy, but, we were dating on my birthday and we did something then, and-”

He has to stop suddenly…but Wilson is thinking that it’s because he can’t very well talk when he’s being kissed.

Wilson backs away gently, and smiles when House follows him to try and keep the kiss going, so he kisses him again and leans back.

“And…my patient? And yours? What if you hadn’t cured him in time?”

House waves a hand. “Got lucky, on both counts. Thirteen is doing clinic hours today, so if you didn’t have anything going on, I was just going to have her page you and keep you occupied with some idiot in the clinic.”

“Oh. This is what you braved the grocery store for?”

House nods. “So you better love it.”

“I do,” he says, planting another kiss on House’s mouth. “Thank you.”

“You should read what it says,” House says, grabbing his hand. Wilson squeezes his fingers as they move to the cake.

Wilson laughs when he reads that instead of saying “Happy Birthday,” House has written “Sorry, I’m late” in icing and it takes up the entire top of the cake.

Wilson tosses his head back and laughs. He isn’t sure how long he’s lost in his sudden mirth, but when he gets his bearings again, he looks at House to see him grinning and Wilson can’t help another chuckle.

He wraps his arms around House’s waist, presses a kiss to his jaw. “Thank you.”

“And you thought I was up to something bad.”

“Well, the last time you asked me what I was doing on a given day, you outed us to the entire hospital in the lobby.”

“That was bad?” House asks, wrapping his arms around Wilson’s back.

“No,” Wilson says. “I just like to be kept in the loop in your shenanigans so I can plan accordingly.”

“Ah, well, in that case, if Cuddy asks you how I found out about my patient’s chocolate allergy, tell her you don’t know.”

Wilson blinks. “I don’t know.”

House winks at him. “Exactly.”

Wilson shakes his head with a snicker. Typical House and Wilson wouldn’t—couldn’t—have him any other way. “Let’s have cake.”

“Let’s have cake in the bedroom,” House answers in a low voice as he untangles himself from Wilson and turns around to grab the cake.

Wilson sighs as he watches House walk toward the hallway leading to the bedroom. “No utensils, even…I’m going to have a mess to clean up later, aren’t I?

House stops and shoots him a smirk over his shoulder. “If we’re lucky.”

Wilson smiles and sighs at the same time. “I’ll get the paper towels.”


End file.
